Neville Bonner never had much of a formal education, so Australia's first Aboriginal senator would have been "so proud" had he been alive to see the official opening of a $42 million primary school named after him on Friday.
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Neville Bonner Primary School in Bonner, the suburb also named after the Queensland senator, is nearing the end of its first year of operation, where it has 260 students enrolled with backgrounds from 49 different countries.
But it is the teaching of Aboriginal culture as an integral part of the school's curriculum which sets it apart from others.
"This is a significant day, a big milestone and step forward for cultural education in the ACT," Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said in formally opening the school.
"Obviously the name of the school sets the standard, but it's really about the teaching and the embracing of the … Ngunnawal culture that will set the school apart from other schools and it will be very interesting to see how that shapes the children's learning."
Bonner, who died in 1999, was represented at the opening by his great niece, Kerry Lindgren-Smith.
"I'm just blown away by the school, and I think the family would be as well,'' she said.
"Uncle Neville really believed in sharing culture and teaching and because he didn't have the education, having a school named after him, he would have been so proud.
"Our family's message to the students of the school would be that you can achieve anything - if my uncle can be born under a palm tree to then becoming a senator for our Parliament, having schools named after him, you can achieve anything."